September 14, 2000

Publicly held Schuler Homes Inc. announced it is acquiring El Segundo-based Western Pacific Housing.

The acquisition will double the size of Schuler and give the firm its first foothold in San Diego County.

Western Pacific was the fifth-ranked volume homebuilder in San Diego County for the first half of 2000 with 276 sales for a 4.77 percent market share, according to a MarketPoint Realty Advisors report. The home builder's projects around the county at the end of the second quarter of 2000 include:

Antigua at Eastlake Greens in Chula Vista with a planned 252 homes priced from $129,000 to $171,900.

Monte Claire in the Sorrento Hills area of San Diego with 50 homes from 2,849-3,693 square feet priced from $744,900 to $864,990.

San Raphael at Torrey Hills in the Sorrento Hills area with 126 homes planned from 1,930 to 2,709 square feet priced from $400,000 to $459,990.

Sausalito at Torrey Hills in the Sorrento Hills area with 101 homes from 1,731-2,135 square feet priced from $324,500 to $357,000.

Sonoma Hills in Oceanside with a planned 125 homes from 1,594 to 2,684 square feet priced from $205,240 to $257,490.

Tanglewood Estates in Fallbrook with a planned 53 homes from 2,861-3,203 square feet priced from $300,290 to $339,990.

Viadana at Rancho Carrillo in Carlsbad with 82 homes from 2,409-3,298 square feet priced from $421,990 to $509,490.

Vista Sonrisa at McMillin Lomas Verdes in Chula Vista with a planned 198 homes from 1,141-1,695 square feet priced from $160,990 to $199,490.

Wyndemere Estates in Escondido with a planned 44 homes from 2,639-3,203 square feet priced from $392,000 to $446,000.

Schuler Homes was founded in 1988 and went public in 1992. The company has a strong presence in Hawaii, and since 1996 has been expanding into the western United States. Operations have been established in Colorado, Washington and Oregon, and a presence was initiated in Northern and Southern California through the acquisition of four regional homebuilders and two start-up operations.

Western was founded in 1993 by its chairman and chief executive officer, Eugene S. Rosenfeld. Its investors include Apollo Real Estate Advisors, Blackacre Capital Management and Highridge Partners. The company is the state's sixth-largest homebuilder with operations in Northern and Southern California.

In fiscal year 1999 ended March 31, 2000, Western closed sales on 1,693 homes with a volume of $551 million. For its fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 1999, Schuler closed sales of 2,643 units for revenues of $506.8 million.

For the 12 months ended June 30, Schuler and Western combined delivered 4,663 homes with more than $1.1 billion in revenue. At the end of June, the two companies had approximately 1,642 homes in backlog with a value of $449 million, and controlled more than 27,000 lots in 187 communities.

Following the merger, James K. Schuler, president and CEO of Schuler Homes, will be president, CEO and co-chairman of the combined company. Rosenfeld will be co-chairman.

The combined company will continue to market its homes under both the Schuler and Western names.

The Corky McMillin Cos. has partnered with Brookfield Homes to develop the Sycamore Estates community in San Diego east of Scripps Ranch and south of Poway. The two are also partners in Calavera Hills in Carlsbad, and Scripps Ranch Villages in San Diego.

The Sycamore Estates site of 2,100 acres was part of a large General Dynamics-owned facility. Nearly 80 percent of the land will be kept as open space, and a large amount will be deeded to the city of San Diego as part of its Multiple Species Conservation Program.

Shea Homes San Diego on Saturday will hold a grand opening at its Acacia in San Elijo Hills in San Marcos.

Centex Homes is nearing closeout and will release for sale on Saturday the three model homes at its 146-home Chaparral neighborhood in Otay Ranch in Chula Vista. The models will be priced from the high $200,000s. Floor plans at Chaparral ranged from 1,875 to 2,098 square feet with two to five bedrooms.

Kaufman & Broad's San Diego division has acquired 47 lots in Oceanside at the intersection of Mesa Drive and North Santa Fe Avenue for approximately $3 million. The 14.97 acres were originally planned for a retail center. The seller was Mission Santa Fe Investments of Beverly Hills. The lots average 6,000 square feet. K&B has three other projects in Oceanside, Belamar, Pravada and Emerald Estates. David Landes of O'Donnell/Atkins Co. represented K&B in the transaction.

Centex Homes reports 61 sales after one month on the market at its two neighborhoods in the Seabreeze Farms community in the Carmel Valley of San Diego.

Thirty-four homes have been sold in four phases at The Hunt Club, and 27 in three phases at Wildhorse. The four releases at The Hunt Club were on one-day sellouts of all homes, although the models are not yet completed.

The Hunt Club offers 45 homes in three floor plans from 4,105 to 4,528 square feet with four and five bedrooms. Prices start in the $700,000s. Wildhorse has 55 homes with three floor plans from 3,163 to 3,770 square feet. Four available homes are priced from $585,085 to $639,990.

Cornerstone Communities reports all townhomes at its 117-unit Capri at Lomas Verdes in Chula Vista have been sold and the three unfurnished models remain. The floor plans range from 1,030 to 1,670 square feet with two to four bedrooms.

Barratt American reports six of the planned 14 homes remain for sale at its High Valley Estates in Poway. Prices range from $756,900 to $919,900. Floor plans range from 3,175 to 4,559 square feet with three to six bedrooms.

Cornerstone Communities reports the 13-home third phase of its Sagewood is available at EastLake Trails in Chula Vista. Three floor plans range from 2,500 to 3,415 square feet with up to six bedrooms. Prices start in the mid-$300,000s.

Fieldstone Communities has three production homes and three models available at its Horizons at Sunbow in Chula Vista. The models range from 1,923 to 2,872 square feet with three to five bedrooms. Prices begin at $282,400. Production homes start at $265,990.

Ryland Homes on Saturday will hold a grand opening in Temecula at its 78-home Sycamore Creek community. Three two-level floor plans range from 1,855 to 2,060 square feet with three and four bedrooms. Phase one homes are priced from the $170,000s to the $180,000s.

Barratt American reports 98 homes sold of 142 planned at its Rembrandt neighborhood in Temecula. The grand opening was 14 months ago. Currently available homes are priced from $186,990 to $221,990. Three floor plans range from 1,715 to 2,529 square feet with three and four bedrooms.